Age of Queens
by Uber Spoonz
Summary: The Monastery has made worship of the Goddesses illegal, forcing a new religion upon Hyrule. Everyone can tell that something's up but don't what to do about it. Who will step up to save the world when the Hero of Time is nowhere to be found? CH. 9 UP!
1. Northern Reaches

**I'm a bad, bad girl! Posting a new story before my other one is finished... Okay, this is kind of a continuation of my last little series, but you can read it and understand completely. I'm not going to refer to any of the events of past stories or any of my past OCs (unless they are introduced here as new OCs). The plot is really hard to explain in the limited summary space ffnet provides you with, so I'll elaborate here:**

**Summary:  
The Age of Queens, a time when many of the Hylian leaders are female. The Monastery, a group focused on controlling anything and everything in Hyrule, has come into power after an event known as the Changing, during which the entire geography of Hyrule was rearranged. The Monastery has outlawed Tri'dism, worship of the three golden goddesses, and has made Unrism, worship of the god Unra, the only legal religion. Skeptical, Zephyr and his younger sister Maris embark on a simple trip to the Zora kingdom which turns into a quest to return peace and prosperity to all of Hyrule.**

**_THIS IS A SERIOUS STORY!_ Check the genre, people! There'll be humor every here and there, 'cause that's the kind of person I am, but it has a very serious plot for the most part. This will probably not be updated all too often until "The Final Adventure" is finished. After, this will be updated more frequently with less frequent updates to "Tomes of Hyrule" (coming soon!).**

**Many aspects of this story may seem un-Zelda-ish, but I have a very extensive description of background information which will continue to grow as I have ideas or plot holes that need filling. Everything will be explained with time, and the story will become more and more Zelda-esque by the passing chapters, along with the addition of valuable background knowledge.**

**Without further ado, I present to you the first chapter of _Age of Queens_!**

**Chapter 1: Northern Reaches**

A boy with unruly blonde hair and silver-blue eyes, no more than ten years old, landed gracefully on the ground, his boots retaining their excellent traction against the ice upon which he stood. He rose from his crouched position and looked around. Snow. That's all his eyes fell upon, as far as his vision would permit. To the left, snow. To the right, even more snow. Straight ahead, a snow bank. Such was the nature of the Northern Reaches.

"Sister!" the boy called, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. His younger sibling said she'd meet him here and they'd walk back to the village together, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Brother!" came a cry from the distance in reply. The boy's ears perked at the sound of his sister's voice. A young blonde girl, only a year his junior, emerged from the peak of the snow peak looming ahead. She was adorned with a turquoise shirt and cerulean skirt, as were the colors of their village, and her hair was combed neatly, unlike her brother's. Her eyes were a deep oceanic blue, unlike the lighter azure of her brother's.

Zephyr ran to meet Maris, but slipped on the ice in his haste and landed sorely on the ground. His younger sister laughed and extended a hand to help him rise. Graciously Zephyr took the delicate hand of his sibling and she heaved him back into a standing position. The boy brushed the snow and ice off his pants and gestured towards the village. There was another snowstorm on the way and he didn't want to get caught in it.

The two children raced each other to the comfort of the fire that awaited them. Eleven years prior, a terrible war had ignited between the clans and races of Hyrule. The noble Shiekah had revealed themselves to be not nearly as extinct as everyone thought they were. The territories of the miscellaneous races had been completely redistributed in this war. During it all, Zephyr's mother had been taken captive by the Zora people. It was during this time that Maris had been born.

Zephyr was but the a small child at the time and couldn't remember his mother in detail. He presumed his father had been drafted to fight for the Hylians early in the war, for he could recall next to nothing about the man. His poor little sister had never even known him. When the flames of war died down and the controversies were settled, a group of Shiekah came across Zephyr and his newborn sister and took them into their ranks.

Not long before Zephyr's encounter with the Shiekah, an incredible thing happened, the event that was said to have ended the Hylian War only months into it. It was this occurrence that was foggiest in Zephyr's mind. He had heard many tales, each more stupendous than the last. Some said a meteor collided with the world and rearranged the earth itself, forming oceans and mountains that hadn't existed before. Others told him that two powerful forces clashed and the energy they produced ravaged the land _like_ a meteor. "It's a common misconception," tellers of this tale would always conclude with.

Zephyr's favorite story was that three angels looked down upon the land and wept over the destruction that had been wrought. As their tears touched the earth, it magically shifted and a new world was born. Unfortunately, with this great change came great turmoil. All the territory had to be redistributed among the different races and clans once again.

Deep in the Northern Reaches was a little settlement of Shiekah known as Snowbound. This was where Zephyr and Maris were brought up by their aine, a traditional Shiekah word that meant 'guardian'. Her name was Sisha, an imposing woman with hair as white as the snow and cut to ear length. Unlike most of the Shiekah, she didn't embellish her face with war paint, and she didn't equip the heavy armor. Sisha believed that this would be a time of peace if everyone could manage to respect one another.

Zephyr and his sister scampered over the snowdrifts and into the town boundaries. Sisha was waiting for them at the gate.

"Where have you two been!" she demanded as she grabbed Zephyr's arm firmly, knowing Maris would follow along behind without protest. "I told you not to leave in this weather! You'll freeze your fingers off! How would you like _that_, Zephyr? There's no way you'd be able to handle that rapier of yours ever again!"

"Aine! Don't say such cruel things!" Maris interrupted. Sisha glared daggers at the girl and she quieted. Zephyr managed to wrench his arm free and followed at the back of the procession to their house, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Honestly," Sisha grumbled, "I'm surprised a couple stubborn kids like you survived the Changing. I'd think you would have tried to make the world go back to the way it was just out of spite!"

Zephyr and Maris exchanged a knowing smile. They quickened their pace, then stilled momentarily. The two then sprang up and tackled Sisha down into the snow. The woman swiftly overpowered the elder sibling, though Maris managed to evade her grasp. She thrust her arms above her head, then crossed them into an 'x' shape. As if in obedience, the snow on either side of Sisha rose up and tumbled down on her head. Maris giggled playfully as she pulled her brother to his feet for the second time that day.

Sisha's hand shot up from the snow and wiped the frost away from her face. The Shiekah woman had a wide grin on her lips. "Run away!" Zephyr and Maris shouted simultaneously as they darted off in either direction.

The game continued for a good half hour before Sisha announced its end and dragged the children into their home to dry off and warm their frozen bodies. Still they tussled in front of the fireplace, smothering each other with blankets.

"All right, you two, cool it," Sisha commanded as she set down a pair of mugs for the siblings. Never had she seen two children more energetic than those that she had taken under her wing. She remembered clearly the day she came across the little toddler, shivering in the snow with an infant grasped in his hands. She could recall all too well his tear-soaked face and his pleas to 'at least save his sister'. A sigh passed her lips as Sisha gazed upon the content youngsters. No one would guess by looking at them that they were orphans.

Later that night, as Sisha was tucking the children into bed, Maris was more restless than usual and asked a strange question.

"Aine, can me and Zephyr go to the Great Sea?" she inquired with hopeful azure eyes. Sisha was a bit taken aback by the query. "Mind your language," she advised, giving the girl a warning glance.

Maris sighed. "May _Zephyr and I_ go to the Great Sea?" she corrected, receiving a satisfied nod from her maternal figure. Sisha sat down on the side of the girl's bed and pushed her back gently so that she was lying down.

"Why do you want to go to such a place?" the woman asked. Maris pulled her sheets up to her chin, but didn't avert her eyes from her aine. "I wanna—I mean, I _want to_ learn more water magic," she replied.

Sisha chuckled quietly. "Little One, your magic isn't water. It's ice. And you can learn all the ice magic you need to know from the elders," she explained. Maris pouted, but Sisha blew out the candles illuminating the room and closed the door on the two children.

Moments later, the silence was disturbed by Zephyr. "Sister, why do you _really_ want to go to the Great Sea? You know the queen of the Zora doesn't like anything other than Zora in her kingdom," he whispered, sitting up. The girl smiled tentatively.

"I have a feeling," Maris began, "that we'll find something real important there. I don't know what it is. It's just a feeling…"

A grin spread on Zephyr's face. "Let's do it, then," he suggested. "Let's go to the Great Sea!"

**Tell me what you think, and please be honest. There'll be a map of the new geography of Hyrule some time in the near future, so be patient for that. Otherwise, how was it? Would you like me to include a tidbit of background information at the end of each chapter so you have a better grasp of it, or would you prefer the details to be revealed through the story itself?**

**Oh, and what kind of suggestions do you have for Queen Zelda's merital status? Keep in mind that Link's whereabouts are totally unknown! And no, Zelda is _not_ hiding him in her closet _or_ under her bed.**

**Okay, reviews please please please! Covering the Three _C_s of Reviewing, if you please. That's comment, critique, and compliment! If you have the time... I know many of you are really very busy, and I appreciate your reviewing at all. I am eternally grateful to all of my readers. -bows-**

**_If you liked this, you'll love "For the Sake of the World", "Face Your Demons", and "The Final Adventure"! Check them out sometime, and please review!_**

**ALSO! There's another contest in the works! Please view my profile for details and the sort! DEADLINE IS JANUARY 3, 2006!**


	2. Beginning of a Journey

**And with the ending of one journey comes the beginning of the another, right? With "The Final Adventure" out of the way, I can set my sights on this story now. I know I should take a break (and finish FF7, right, Angel?), but my writers' flow is incessant. Besides, why keep you waiting? I'm eager to get to the exciting parts of this story, so I'll just keep writing. And writing, and writing! And maybe break in between for video games. Still need to finish up Golden Sun… And it seems that both my website and my other seven or so stories will never get touched…**

**But I update my blog and my fanfiction!**

**I don't remember if I told you or not, but I'm doing review replies by means of blog. The link is in my profile, at the very top, just below the user information (not the bio!). Now I'm going to get right back to work on Chapter 4 of this! Yeah, Chapter 3 is already finished. This one's just flying!**

**Chapter 2: Beginning of a Journey**

The sun hadn't even broken the horizon by the time Zephyr and Maris had thrown together a couple crude supply packs. They didn't expect a very eventful venture, so they only packed enough food for the trip to the Great Sea and back. For once, it was Zephyr who was nervous and tense. Maris was unusually calm.

"What's wrong, brother?" the girl yawned as she shouldered her pack. Zephyr shook his head and sighed. "Let's head out before Sisha catches on," he recommended. Maris nodded in agreement and the two silently passed the threshold.

Then came hitch number one. There was a fresh coat of snow on the ground, which would be a great impediment to their travel. Add to it, the clouds were a neutral gray color and were very high—a definite sign of more snow in the future. Zephyr shook his head. They'd not yet left Snowbound and were already facing ill prospects.

"Brother, should we stay here?" Maris whispered, sparing a glance at the inviting door of her home. Zephyr grunted in unspoken dissent and began trudging through the snow. The snowdrift was higher than he expected; it came up halfway to his knee. Luckily, both he and his sister had on thick boots meant for hiking through deep snow.

They had been walking for only fifteen minutes before Maris started complaining. "Zephyr, I'm hungry," she informed. The boy scoffed. "Then take something out of your pack and eat it," he suggested, evoking a frustrated sigh in response. Soon enough there was a bone-chilling breeze blowing with a flurry of snow at its heels.

"I'm cold, Maris," Zephyr fussed, trying to tug his cloak around his shoulders. "So take something out of your pack and put it on," his sister replied mockingly. He rolled his eyes and detached his robe from his golden necklace and wrapped it around his body. Ten more minutes passed in silence, then half an hour.

"I wonder what kind of lands are past the Northern Reaches," Maris mused aloud. Zephyr shrugged. "We'll see when we get there," he responded, smiling over his shoulder at the girl behind him. Maris was the world to him; she was all he had left of his family. Sisha would always be there to lend a hand, but she couldn't identify with him the same way Maris could. Besides, he and his sister weren't Shiekah. They didn't belong in Snowbound, a Shiekah village. Of course, they didn't quite belong in the Great Sea either.

Another deafening silence grasped the siblings as they plodded onwards. "I wonder why the Monastery outlawed Tri'dism," Zephyr yawned, to make conversation. Maris tilted her head with interest. "Tri'dism's been illegal for so long, brother," she reminded. "The Monastery only allows Unrism. It's been that way as long as I can remember. Why are you questioning it now?"

Zephyr shook his head. "It's not that I don't believe in Unra… It's just that I don't get why the Monastery banned Tri'dism if it was the mainstream religion for all those centuries," he explained. Lies. That was exactly it: he didn't _believe_ in Unra. But to admit such a thing in that day and age would mean instant persecution.

Tri'dism, worship of the Triad, or the three golden goddesses. Before the Changing, almost everyone in Hyrule, regardless of race, had been Tri'dist. The divine scriptures were taught as history. However, when the Monastery came into power, the ideals of Tri'dism faded away with the Age of Kings. With the coming of the Age of Queens, Unra was introduced by the Monastery. All traces of Tri'dism were erased from the records of the royal family and were replaced by mentions of Unrism.

Unra was said to be twelve feet high with four powerful arms and a golden beard to his knees. The Monastery insisted that it was Unra who created all of Hyrule with the help of three angels, who were his eternal minions. According to Unrism, the Changing occurred because Unra was outraged that the people who thrived upon the very land he formed with his great hands were betraying him for the Triad. The Changing was meant to cleanse the world and open their eyes to the wrongs of their ways, an event organized by Unra's angels.

But it still puzzled Zephyr that a religion so developed and loved as Tri'dism could be wiped away so easily. Personally, he wasn't entirely fond of Unrism, but he accepted the principles set by the Monastery, as was law.

"Brother, what are we going to do when we get to the ocean?" Maris asked suddenly. Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "We're gonna see what we see. It was _your_ idea to go, remember?" he reminded. What exactly _were_ they going to do besides try not to get arrested by the Zora Navy?

"It's… really far away. The ocean is," Maris whispered. "I think Aine showed me a map once. If I remember right, there's a bunch of chunks of drifting ice called the 'Glacial Islands'. They lead up to the Great Sea. Then, far, _far_ across the sea is the Zora city of Seabound, the capital of all oceanic communities."

"Maris, _who_ is teaching you these words?" Zephyr chuckled. Maris huffed. "What I'm _trying_ to say is that we've got to get across each one of those ice bergs if we're gonna get to the Great Sea! And if we're headed so Seabound…"

"Well, then we've got nothin' to worry about," the elder sibling said as he winked at his sister from over his shoulder. "'Cause you got water magic. Remember?"

Maris frowned and set her gaze firmly upon the snow. "Aine said it's ice magic…" she mumbled. Zephyr groaned. "Don't be so pessimistic! It's _water_ magic! Go on, give it a try! Try to take the water out of the snow using your magic," he encouraged. Maris ceased her progress and sat down on her knees. She set her hands levelly upon the snow and closed her eyes. Slowly she raised her hands. As she did so, droplets of water rose up from the ice.

"See? Aine just didn't pay attention. You're magic _is_ water," Zephyr grinned. Maris, however, remained cynical. "What if that's just snow that melted at my touch?" she murmured. Her brother growled, then sighed in frustration and turned around. "If you're through blabbing about your _water_ powers, can we get moving again?" he suggested bitterly. Maris pressed her lips together and rose, following her sibling.

They soon came to a place where the land cut off into a jagged cliff. Zephyr placed his hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun and squinted across the water. He could see a large ice floe in the distance. "Sister! Use you water magic and make us a bridge!" he said as he stepped back and pushed Maris towards the coastline. The girl gulped and took a deep breath, then stepped forward. A pillar of water rose and solidified into ice beneath her feet. Zephyr gave a triumphant laugh and hopped across the pillars as they appeared.

It wasn't long before they reached the first glacier, but the consumption of so much of her power left Maris unbearably weak. She collapsed to the ice as soon as her foot left the final pillar. She shivered from cold, her face pale. Zephyr leapt off the bridge his sister had created and knelt at her side. "Sister… are you all right? Can you hear me, Maris?" he whispered as he took the frail girl in his arms. Her breath solidified in the crisp air and her eyes refused to open.

Zephyr took his cloak and blanket and wrapped them both around Maris. He set her down in his lap and rested his chin on her shoulder. The cold was biting at his exposed skin and hunger writhed in his stomach like a parasite, but Zephyr refused to do anything for himself until he was sure Maris was all right. Vaguely he remembered that day so many years ago.

The land was ravaged. Fire burned everywhere and arrows protruded from the ground. Corpses lay about, just festering in the heat. The earth was rumbling as if in great sorrow. Land was pushing against land or, in other places, tearing apart. Mountains climbed to the heavens. Trenches were torn into the once-peaceful earth, and from them came lava. It seemed as though the chaos would never die down.

Zephyr narrowed his eyes. Most people had sweet memories. His could all be likened to a nightmare. He could almost remember sitting on the ashen ground with his baby sister wrapped in his arms. A person came near and took his hand. _It was Sisha_, he thought. _Sisha found us and brought us along with her_. But something wasn't quite right. The person he saw with his mind's eyes wasn't his beloved Aine. This being was a man, and Zephyr could almost swear that he was holding a sword.

He remembered the man picking him and his sister up and carrying them a ways. He remembered the man talking to them and assuring that everything would turn out all right. He remembered being set down in the snow with a kiss on his forehead. He remembered the man hurrying off, sword in hand. He remembered hearing Sisha shouting things as she approached. After that was nothing besides the same old memories of the Shiekah encampment.

"But that man… why am I only just now remembering him?" Zephyr wondered aloud. Maris stirred in his arms. "Sister, are you awake?" he asked worriedly. The girl nodded her head and looked up with tired eyes. "What's up, Brother?" she smiled.

Zephyr reclaimed his cloak, though he let Maris keep the blanket for the time being. He set to work making a small fire. Perhaps they could catch some fish. One way or another, Zephyr decided that they weren't going to set out again until morning.

**What a way to start an adventure. Next chapter is the first fight scene of the fic! Zephyr learns something about himself and his sister. And… Welcome to Seabound, home of the Royal Zora Family! But that's _next_ chapter.**

**I'm going to have to warn you that my writing is going to become very intense as of late, because I have lots of new music. So, I find an mp3 to fit the scene I'm writing and let the music's emotions help with my words. I think that's contributing to my writers' flow quite a bit. Anyway, I've also found that if you pick some music to listen to while reading, it'll amplify the emotions of the writing. I've got all the music from both Golden Sun games, a whopping 97 mp3s, so I just pick one and use it for a certain part of the fic. Just a little reading, or even writing, advice, as it helps me out greatly.**

**Contest ends January 3, reviews replied to by blog, all details in the profile. Hope ya enjoyed the second chapter!**


	3. Seabound

**So… yeah. Final Fantasy 7 is giving me a hard time lately. Haven't touched the thing for the entire day. Stupid WEAPON. Did he defeat me? Oh no. That's the point. I defeated him, all right. But… I _thought_ that when he flew up into the sky, he was going to perform some terrible attack. Only Vincent was left, and he was barely functioning. Just as I hit the reset button, lo and behold, Vinnie twirls his gun in his standard victory stance. Mxedcherub'll vouch for it. I went completely insane. How insane? I walked to the back door and opened it, thinking that I was just going to walk out and keep walking forever until I found the Lifestream. Luckily what was left of my sanity told me that there was no such thing as the Lifestream in reality like there is in Final Fantasy, so I instead turned around and stalked through the house cackling maniacally and saying things about "Black Materia". I haven't been completely normal since. Especially when I hear the music that played during the WEAPON battle…**

**Otherwise, I got to… What part am I at? Oh, I know. I just did the whole thing with Tifa trying to get Cloud to remember who he is. Now I'm on the Highwind, just sitting around. I lost my green marble… I got the others back, but the green marble was my favorite and now it's gone. Oh well.**

**Yay for long authors' notes! Here's the story; a present to Blondie91 because I put her on Ignore in a chat room and made her sad.**

**Chapter 3: Seabound**

"Wake up, Zephyr!"

The boy groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. "_Must_ you be so loud, Sister?" he yawned. Maris giggled and scampered across the ice. Once she got to the other side, she began waving her arms wildly. Zephyr heaved himself up with a sigh and trudged over to his sibling. She gestured to the water. "Let's go, let's go!" she said impatiently as she jumped into the open air. As she presumed it would, a pillar of ice sprang up to support her. It wasn't nearly as far to the next ice floe as the other was.

"Look!" Maris shouted as she pointed into the distance. Zephyr did so. There was the ocean. He had seen the little rock-strewn bays before, but never had his eyes feasted upon the glory that was the Great Sea. "It's beautiful," he breathed. The waters reflected the sky like a mirror. Waves lolled gently across the surface. Fish swam in massive schools.

"Look there!" Zephyr exclaimed as he gestured to a huge shadow. "That's one big school of fish." That 'big school of fish' soon emerged from the water with a deafening roar, revealing itself to be an enormous sea dragon. Zephyr pushed Maris back and unsheathed his rapier. He'd never fought in a real battle before, but his instincts to protect his sister served as all the strength and experience he'd need.

Instincts or no, his grip upon the hilt was unsteady and sweat formed across his brow. What if he failed…? He shook his head and tightened his grip. The dragon submerged, swimming in predatory circles around the ice. It soon leapt upwards and dove completely over the ice, drenching Zephyr and Maris. Everything stilled. All was quiet…

Until the sea dragon rammed the ice berg. The ice fractured almost into two pieces. Zephyr staggered up and ran to the edge of the island. There it was. The serpent looked up at him through the water with menacing eyes. It emitted a low growl and backed up a bit, preparing to ram again. "Stay _back_!" Zephyr demanded as he slashed his rapier through the air. A whirlwind formed around the slender blade.

"Wh-what's this?" he said in awe. Maris leaned forward to get a better look. "Zephyr… you've got wind magic!" she proclaimed. The sea dragon lunged forth, directly at the young wind mage. He slashed wildly at his foe. Every time his rapier tore through the air, the tornado was launched and another was formed. Zephyr continued in this fashion until the sea dragon was so cut up by the winds that it gave up on its 'easy' meal and swam away scornfully.

Zephyr rested the point of his rapier on the ice and gasped for breath. "Wind magic," he repeated softly. He turned back to his sister with a victorious grin. "Guess you aren't the only one with special powers, huh?" he bragged. Maris rolled her eyes and stood at the edge of the ice floe. "You forget who had their powers first," she smirked. Zephyr turned his head from her disdainfully.

Maris looked at the Great Sea with a heavy heart. She thought she'd find something when she got there, but there was nothing but water and ice. _We're too far north_, she told herself. _If we want to find what we're looking for, we need to get to Seabound_. The girl closed her eyes and placed her hands over her heart. She walked forward slowly. As she did so, the sea parted and stairs of ice formed, leading to the sea floor.

"Sister… is that safe?" Zephyr asked cautiously as he cast a nervous glance at the walls of water on either side. Maris didn't give any reply; she held her attention on the water and pressed forward. Her brother eventually gave up calling for her to come back and instead ran after her.

It soon became evident that Maris couldn't hold the ocean back much longer. Zephyr looked around desperately for some island or something. However, he too had seen Sisha's map. There was no land between the Glacial Islands and Seabound. He shuddered thinking about how close they were to the Divine Isles. Those three islands were the Monastery's home base. It was from there that the Monastery controlled nearly everything.

On the southernmost piece of land, which was also the smallest, was the Temple of Unra. Zephyr could hardly bear thinking about that place. Every month, the Monastery would send paladins to a different clan and demand to see the all village's young girls. They would then select one and use her as a sacrifice to Unra at the Temple. Zephyr couldn't stand the thought of it. To think… one day, it might be his sister that they choose.

The notion of his younger sister brought his attention back to her condition. "I'm going to release it, Brother," she warned with a strained voice. Zephyr gasped. "No, Maris! We'll be crushed!" he exclaimed. Maris opened one eye gave her brother a despondent smile. "I don't think we will. I just can't… hold it… any… more…!"

With the utterance of that last word, the walls came crashing down. Zephyr dove upon his sister to shield her. At the same time, he gave forth all the energy in his body. A barrier of wind formed around them and weakened the water that pressed on them from every direction. However, this barrier did nothing for the fact that they were underwater. As his shield dissolved, Zephyr made for the surface with all the energy he had left. Maris was already unconscious, but he wouldn't allow himself rest until they were safe.

Daylight shone down upon him like a beacon. Finally his head broke the surface. He held Maris afloat, his cloak billowing around him on the waters. They were stranded in the middle of the Great Sea. To make matters worse, sleep soon claimed Zephyr's weary mind.

---

The boy sat up slowly. His head hurt, and his body was sore. He was cold and damp. What happened?

Zephyr's thoughts raced as he remembered the sea crashing in upon him and his sister. He looked around swiftly, trying to locate Maris floating upon the waves. As his vision came into focus, however, he found that there were no waves. He was lying beneath pale blue sheets on a soft mattress. The room resembled the inside of a sea shell. Across from him, Zephyr could see his younger sister sleeping peacefully beneath her own covers.

"You're the other two Chosen, huh?" came a young voice. Zephyr whipped around, feeling for his rapier but finding it gone. It mattered not, though, as it was only a small Zora boy. Zephyr had never seen a real Zora before. This one was young, probably no older than himself. He had a fish's tail in place of hair and a pair of fins instead of ears. His arms and legs bore long fins that billowed like sleeves. His eyes were a deep, almost glowing emerald color. Upon his forehead was a gem shaped like a teardrop.

"You're a Zora?" the blonde boy asked dumbly. His company frowned. "Well, duh!" he huffed as he put his hands on his hips. "Not only am I a Zora, but I'm the _prince_ of all Zoras!"

Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "The prince, eh?" he repeated. "Mind telling me what my sister and I are doing here, your majesty?"

The Zora walked across the room to tend to Maris. "You two were drifting in the ocean, unconscious. The Navy found you. I told my mom that you were both two of the Chosens. She put you in bed until you woke up. And here you are now. By the way, my name is River," he explained casually.

"I'm Zephyr, and that's my sister Maris," Zephyr introduced. "Now, do you mind telling me what all this business about 'Chosen' is? You lost me there."

River tilted his head. "How could you _not_ know?" he asked. "You're one of them!"

"I've lived pretty much in isolation for my whole life," Zephyr shrugged. River took this as a worthy excuse and proceeded to explain.

"There's a prophecy that one day a dark god will rise over the land and slowly destroy the world. So the four Chosens will come together and fight him back. You can tell someone's a Chosen by the color of their eyes. See, mine are deep, glowing green. That means I'm endowed with the power of the Earth, making me a Chosen. Your eyes are very light blue, and they also shine. That makes you the Chosen of Wind. There's one Chosen for every element. Your sister is Water, so all that's left is to find the Chosen of Fire and we're all set to save the world."

"That doesn't make any sense," Zephyr interrupted. "Why would my sister, a Hylian, be Chosen of Water instead of a Zora that _lives_ in the ocean?" River shrugged. "I didn't make up the rules. Now, if you'll let me continue." He cleared his throat.

"The glowing means that person has a pure soul. The moment they do something unjust or immoral, they're eyes turn to normal and they're no longer a Chosen. So we have to be careful. We're the guys who'll save the world, after all. If we lose out power, then goodbye, Hyrule. You get it?"

Zephyr began to nod, then shook his head. "I still wanna know why the Zora is Earth and the Hylian is Water," he mumbled. River heaved an exasperated sigh. "Look, it pertains to your personality," he said, becoming frustrated. "Earth is stoic and determined, Wind is strong and gentle, Fire is powerful and fierce, and Water is serene and fluid. My personality constitutes for the Earth element. Can I assume that yours and Maris' match up as well?"

This time the Hylian boy could agree with one hundred percent certainty.

"River!" exclaimed a regal voice. "What are you doing? I told you to leave those children be!"

**Who's the voice belong to? It's pretty durn obvious if you think about it. I mean, really. But I'm not going to say anything. River… Couldn't think of a very earthy name that would be good for a Zora, so I called 'im River. Here we have some of the plot being revealed. Not so much history. The whole thing with the Chosens, that's Tales of Symphonia all over. We'll get some Sword of Mana in there somewhere, somehow. Final Fantasy, oh yeah. I'll get a lot of that.**

**But now I'm at an impasse. I want one of the characters to be insane. So, I'm asking for an OC from a reviewer. Whoever it is, just know he/she will be completely insane. Angel of Atonement, I'll use yours if you give me one. (He's been really great to me, guys. Plus, he gives the best reviews. If he wants his character used, it's gonna be used!)**

**Key points: Gender (girl/boy), race (Hylian/Zora/Goron/Kokiri/Gerudo), description (physical description/abilities/family/birthplace/age/background/etc.), and personality (when he/she's not being insane). Oh, and anything else I forgot. Like his/her name.**

**I look forward to reading your reviews and seeing your characters! Oh, and Angel of Atonement, did you know that there's a fourth option for the date at Gold Saucer? With Barret! I have the steps to get the Yuffie date if you want them.**

**AND EVERYONE IN THE UNIVERSE SHOULD LEARN TO PLAY OCARINA! I adore my ocarina! You all should get one and learn it! It sounds so great! I like playing Final Fantasy 7 music on mine… Hee hee.**


	4. The Sea Dragons Attack

**I just watched _The Chronicles of Narnia_ today, and I recommend that movie to anyone who has a fight scene they're stuck on! I was watching the battle at the end and just wishing I had my computer so I could type. It was _incredibly_ inspiring. I was really kind of sad that this chapter was already getting rather long and I wouldn't be able to fit a decent battle in here, so look for it next chapter!**

**Also, I keep forgetting to mention this: The Christmas contest is… CLOSED! Sorry, but that's the hard truth. How many of you were honestly going to enter anyway? Because of my not having a great deal of time or entries, I am ending the contest now. Please don't send me entries, okay? A big, big SORRY to everyone who was already working on a picture or story! Here's the next chapter as apology!**

**Chapter 4: The Sea Dragons Attack**

"Mom!" River shouted in surprise. "I thought you were meeting with those representatives from the eastern Zora clan!"

In the doorway stood a Zora woman garbed in a translucent blue gown. Upon her head was a bright amethyst set into a winged silver base. Beads followed around her head, and from those cascaded a long azure veil. She had her hands rested angrily upon her hips. River withdrew a few steps nervously.

"Uh… Zephyr, this is Queen Ruto, ruler of Seabound and the Great Sea," he introduced. Zephyr stared at the named queen for a while. "She's a fish," he murmured. "Excuse me?" Ruto inquired. The blonde boy shook his head to dismiss his comment. After all, he could presume that _all_ Zora looked like fish. They lived in the ocean, for crying out loud!

"My son has requested that my people care for you and treat you as we would esteemed guests, for it appears you are two of the four Chosens," the queen said. "I will comply with his entreaty, but I will also warn you that there are those in my fair city that will not take kindly to foreigners. Seabound is an isolated city. We keep to our own business. Or, we _used_ to keep to our business, until today.

"You and your sister are welcome here in Seabound for as long as you wish to stay. Be careful, though, I implore of you." Ruto took River's hand and dragged him out of the room, closing the door behind them to leave Zephyr and Maris alone. The boy crept over to his sister's bed and sat down beside it, leaning on the mattress.

"Maris… wake up," he said as he poked the girl's arm. One eye flicked open. "Are they gone?" she whispered. Zephyr chuckled. "Yeah, they left just now," he assured. Maris sat up and stretched. "Good. I was tired of playing dead," she grinned. "Brother, your clothes are different," she observed as she inspected herself to see if she had been changed as well.

Zephyr had been too concerned with Maris and River to notice that he had been changed into dry, white pajamas. His sister was clad in an ivory nightgown. He looked around to find their Snowbound garments hanging in the corner, drying. He nodded in understanding and approval and turned back to Maris. "You heard what River was telling me, right?" he asked. The girl gave her assent.

"Chosen of Water…? No wonder I've always wanted to go to the Great Sea," she thought aloud. "But what's here…? I feel like there's something here for me, and I've got to find it before I can leave… But what is it…? And _where_ is it…? I just don't know…"

"It's okay, Sister," Zephyr smiled. "We'll find whatever it is we need to find, then we'll go back to Snowbound and tell Aine about all this." Maris nodded with a reassured grin. They ventured out of their room hesitantly, remembering the queen's warning. Zephyr scampered down the hall and gestured that his sister follow.

"Where are we going?" Maris whispered as Zephyr dragged her along by her wrist. "We're exploring a little," he winked, "'cause Queen Ruto said we could. Now stop worrying and come on!"

They passed giant tapestries and portraits. They glanced into the depths of a vast library and a bustling kitchen. They came to the center of the palace and found a huge pool of water with reefs and fishes dwelling within, a giant waterfall resting at the back. "Come on! Come on!" Maris exclaimed as she ran forward and until she was up to her knees in the water. "Brother! Over here!" she called when she saw Zephyr wasn't following.

The boy sighed and trudged forward to where his sister was crouched in front of the water. He knelt down and watched as the fish swam in circles around one another. A creature that resembled the sea dragon Zephyr had faced looped around beneath the shining surface. However, it looked far more complacent, almost domestic. Its neck was long with fin-like protrusions. Its feet were large flippers. Its body was covered in pink, blue, and sea green scales. Its eyes were wide and deep turquoise.

"What a magnificent thing," Zephyr breathed as he placed his fingers in the water. The dragon surfaced and tossed its head playfully, splashing the boy with icy liquid. He grinned and threw more water back. Maris danced backwards to avoid the water fight. In her fascination with the antics before her, she stumbled into a patrolling Zora guard.

"What where you're going, child! Hey, you! Get away from there! Leave that dragon alone! Stupid foreigners… Honestly!" the guard demanded in a flustered tone. Zephyr plodded out of the water shamefully and stood at his sister's side as they were further reprimanded.

"That is a sacred creature! You must _never_ bother her! Stupid, stupid foreigners!"

"But that dragon started playing with _me_!" Zephyr explained as he cast a glance over his shoulder. The serpent had its head extended out of the water to get a better view of the scene. When it saw Zephyr was looking its way, it swung its head side to side as if beckoning for him to come back. "The poor thing must get awfully lonely…" he muttered.

"Nonsense," the Zora scoffed. "That is Lielu, the Guardian of Seabound. She doesn't get _lonely_. Ignorant child. She wasn't playing; she was trying to get you to go away!"

"Not true," Maris murmured under her breath. Being in tune with the water element, she found she was able to channel the emotions of sea creatures, or at least those of Lielu. When she came near, she was overwhelmed by sadness and loneliness. When she approached the water, curiosity consumed her. As her brother played with Lielu, she was ecstatic and content. And now she felt remorseful, ashamed, and wistful. Lielu was sad that she had gotten Zephyr into trouble, but she wanted him to come back so they could play more.

"What was that?" the Zora growled. Maris turned around and gave Lielu an apologetic smile. She tugged on Zephyr's sleeve, indicating for them to go. "I asked you a question, brat!" the guard shouted as he grabbed Maris' shoulder and slapped her face. Zephyr gasped and turned on the offender with fierce eyes.

"Don't _ever_ touch my sister!" he screamed as a gale tore through the chamber, whipping his hair across his face. "Brother!" Maris pleaded, setting a calming hand on his shoulder. Zephyr growled in contempt, but he let himself be pulled away by his sister.

"You remember what River told us, don't you?" the girl whispered. Zephyr bit his lip. "If we do anything impure, we won't be Chosens anymore and the world will be doomed," he recalled solemnly. Maris nodded. "So we need to be careful," she smiled, "very, _very_ careful."

The siblings returned to their room to change into their other clothes in hopes that they were now dry. Finding the garbs fit for wear, they quickly changed. Maris noticed that the room had an upstairs that they hadn't noticed before. "Look, Zephyr," she said airily as she ascended the spiraling staircase. The entire wall was a pane of glass through which they could view the ocean.

"Oh my… We're underwater!" Zephyr exclaimed in shock. He stared gaping as fish swam past lazily then scattered as if suddenly frightened. The enormous sea dragon that attacked them before darted past with many more like it following. Zephyr gasped and stumbled backwards as monster after terrifying monster disappeared from view. The castle began to quake violently, knocking Maris to the floor.

"What's going on…?" the girl groaned as she stood, only to have the floor tremble again. She grasped at the walls to steady herself. Through the window Zephyr could see something swiftly approaching from the distance. His eyes grew wide in fear with the realization of what was going to happen. "_Run, Maris_!" he shouted as he grabbed her arm and made for the door.

The sea dragon that Zephyr had spotted swimming towards them rammed into the window, creating several large cracks in the glass. Water leaked and spurted from the tiny openings as the dragon backed up for a second assault. Zephyr cursed under his breath as he tried to open the door. Maris placed a hand on his arm with serene eyes. The boy gave a shuddering sigh and calmly undid the latch. He turned the knob and pushed his sister out just as the window burst.

Floods of sea water rushed towards him as Zephyr pulled the door tightly shut and locked it. He clutched Maris' wrist and raced down the hall, occasionally tripping as the castle sustained yet another blow, presumably from the dragons. They eventually came to the main chamber, where the younger sibling wrenched herself free from her brother's grasp. "Lielu!" she shouted as she ran towards the pool of water where the gentle creature resided. She was cut off by the Zora guard from earlier.

"No, children! It's not safe that way! Come on; the Queen's quarters will best protect you," he said as he guided both the Hylians up a long flight of ornate stairs and through a pair of lavish ivory doors. He closed the passage off before they could protest to help defend the city.

"Brother! Lielu! I think she's in danger!" Maris explained in an upset manner. Zephyr shook his head. "How do you know that?" he asked skeptically.

"Your sister is right," chimed a voice that the two recognized to be River's. The young prince of the Zora emerged from behind a dressing curtain. "Sorry I didn't make my presence known sooner, but… yeah. Lielu, Guardian of Seabound, is in grave danger. At the first sign of battle, she left her sanctum to help fend off the invaders. She's still young, and she's up against fully-grown Dread Serpents. She won't stand a chance. And if Lielu dies… all of Seabound will collapse."

"Okay, first off: Dread Serpents?" Zephyr inquired. River nodded hurriedly. "Yeah, those dragon things that are attacking us. We call 'em Dread Serpents. Lielu is one of them, but she's got a _way_ better temper, and she's more interested in protecting us than destroying us," he explained.

"And why does Seabound's survival depend on Lielu?" Maris asked curiously. "Look, I don't know _where _you guys are from," River began in an annoyed tone, "but every capital has a guardian. Seabound is capital of the oceans, so we have Lielu. She's a huge source of magic energy. Her tears are said to be able to revive the dead. I've never seen it myself, but I know people who have been brought back by her. As long as she's well, Seabound will flourish with her power. Should she die, though, our city will wither and die. It's like this with every capital and guardian."

"And that's why Seabound is capital of the seas," Maris concluded, "because this is where Lielu lives."

"She won't be 'living' here for long unless we can find some way to help!" Zephyr shouted in aggravation. How could they stand around and chat about such things when the endurance of an entire city was at stake? "Well, what do _you_ suggest, Mr. Know-It-All?" River scoffed as he placed one hand angrily on his hip.

"Uh, I might be able to do something," Maris interrupted. She pointed to a staff hanging decoratively over Queen Ruto's bed. It was built from a gnarled piece of driftwood with a moon shape at the top. Set into the crook of that crescent was a rather large sapphire orb. Tied around the base of the head was a cerulean ribbon. She could sense a great power in it. "Your mother wouldn't mind if I borrowed that, would she?" River shrugged and removed the item from the wall. "Don't see what good it'll do. It's just a pretty stick," he muttered as he placed the rod in Maris' waiting hands.

"What are you planning, Sister?" Zephyr questioned. His sibling grinned.

"I'll be back, Zephyr. I'm going to go and lead the army!"

Before the boy could even comprehend the words, Maris was out the door with her new staff in hand. "She's going to _what_!" Zephyr exclaimed when the statement finally sunk in. River stared at the door in cynicism.

**Oh, and is it just me, or does anyone else see the resemblance between that William Moseley guy who played Peter (in the movie) and Link? Slap some pointy ears on the guy and voila! He's already blonde and blue-eyed. And eliminate the accent, too. It was a great movie, but I couldn't help thinking he looked almost exactly like Link!**

**Um, um… I don't really… have much… to say. The OC thing has been decided. Angel of Atonement's, and not just because of all he's done for me. It looks as though he put a lot of thought into making Doroki extremely compatible with the story, and I can't wait to introduce him. And… and… Uhhh… Oh, we're getting a high speed connection soon, so I'll be able to update my website! YAY!**

**And… I think that's all. Don't forget to check my blog every now and then to see if I replied to the reviews. And… please leave a review on your way out! Thank you!**


	5. Heat of Battle

**I understand that the battle scene is tragically short… and it pains me to leave it so, but I have not the patience or ability to make it better than I have tried to make it. It gets a little boring at one part but… Oh, I guess I don't want to reveal too much!**

**Chapter 5: Heat of Battle**

_I hope I know what I'm doing… It feels right, though. Lielu… Where are you? I want to help you fight this battle. I want to help defend Seabound!_

_"Ugh… Miss Maris? Is that you?"_

_Huh…? Li…Lielu?_

_"Maris! The cove! Come to the cove! Hurry!"_

_Lielu? You sound weak! What's wrong? Are you injured?_

_"Maris… Hurry..! I don't know how much longer I'll be able to fight!"_

_Hang in there, Lielu! I'm on my way!_

Maris regained her footing as quickly as possible as another tremor rocked the foundation of the castle. The cove…? _I wish we had explored more_, she mused remorsefully. However, she seemed to know exactly where she was headed. She decided that Lielu was drawing Maris towards her. Regardless of the cause, the young girl found herself standing on a curved beach encased by a large cavern of rock. Zora warriors swam nimbly through the water, utilizing strange skills to attack with lightning. The sea dragons, being immersed, were being felled in droves.

It appeared, though, that there were far more of the attackers left than the Zoras could handle. Their numbers began to deplete exponentially. Maris bit her lip and ran to the water's edge. "_Lielu_!" she called. There was a loud, wailing, song-like sound to her right. She ran to the other end of the shore and found the young sea dragon lying deathly still.

"Are you all right?" Maris asked as she placed her palm on the bleeding wound on Lielu's left flank. The staff began to glow and the injury healed. To Maris' shock, the serpent lifted her head and shook it vigorously. _"Miss Maris! Climb onto my back!"_ she commanded telepathically. The girl nodded and did as she was instructed. Lielu raced forward to the head of the attack. Maris raised her staff above her head.

"Everyone! Listen to me! Follow my lead!" the Hylian girl instructed. No one paid her any heed whatsoever. Who could blame them, though? After all, she was only nine years old. To aid her rider, Lielu gave a trumpeting cry. The Zoras all lowered their weapons and stared in wonder.

"My name is Maris, ice mage of Snowbound and Chosen of Water! Please, for the sake of this city's safety, do as I tell you!" she shouted. None of the warriors responded. Maris growled in frustration and turned around, motioning Lielu forward. There was another fleet of Death Serpents approaching, and she had to cut them off before they reached the area.

Maris twirled her staff called forth a wall of ice. The pointed pillars speared many of the attackers as they rose up. They immediately began to ram the impediment. Several of the pillars were felled. Maris crossed her hands, palms outwards, and focused on the water. A massive wave rose from the previously still surface and pushed back the enemy forces.

"Are you with me or not!" she cried over her shoulder. An eruption of battle cries sounded as the army charged forward. Maris began shouting commands to guide the troops. "Right flank! Move left! Left flank! Advance steadily! Center row! Cross right! Confuse them! Loop around the ice! Come on!" she called. As they did so, she lifted large amounts of water and released them upon the Dread Serpents. Many were pulverized in this manner.

_"Well done, Miss Maris!"_ Lielu complimented. "We're not through yet," the girl replied with a smirk. She guided her steed forward into the midst of battle. Valiantly she began to bash the dragons and impale them with powerful jets of water. She knew she would be sickened with herself later, but for now all she was concerned with was the safety of Seabound.

Maris cried out in agony as she was struck by powerful fangs. The injured girl plummeted from Lielu's back and into the waters, now freezing from her ice magic. _"Maris!"_ came the dragon's concerned shout. The young Chosen struggled beneath the bloody sea to escape its prison. Her head broke the surface and she gasped for breath, but her shoulder was still bleeding badly. Maris clutched at her flesh and tried to heal herself. The job was inadequate, however, since she had already used so much of her power.

A terrifyingly powerful gale ravaged the water. Maris floundered around for Lielu, though the salty water whipping at her face wasn't helping at all.

"_Sister_!" Zephyr called from the beach. Maris felt herself being pushed and soon found that she was resting against Lielu's side. "Brother! Oh, Zephyr! What are you doing out here?" the younger sibling shouted. She found in dismay that many of the Dread Serpents had reached the land and were now facing off against her brother for admittance to Seabound.

"I could ask you the same thing!" the boy grinned as he fought the monsters back with his rapier. _And Aine said learning to fight with a rapier was a waste of time and energy_, he thought with a chuckle. Maris climbed out of the sea and clung to Lielu's neck. "I'm fighting off the Dread Serpent assault!" she informed somewhat cockily. "And _you_?"

"_Watch_ _out_!" Zephyr warned suddenly. Maris whipped around and screamed into the gaping jaws of a Dread Serpent. The land shifted and contorted, toppling the surprised attacker. Maris turned her head and saw River standing half-submerged, arms outstretched and a confident smirk on his lips. "Need some help, my lady?" he laughed. Maris raised an eyebrow. Wasn't _he_ the royalty? Either way, she was grateful for his assistance.

Maris concentrated on her wound and healed it just enough to get by. _The Water element sure is a handy one_, she mused to herself as she lifted spheres of water into the air and rained down shards of ice upon the Dread Serpents. Zephyr ran into the water as far as he could and raised his rapier up as though it was an extension of his arm. He closed his eyes and a faint breeze stirred. The ferocious sounds of battle seemed distant and quiet as the surface of the sea churned and spun. Eventually a whirlpool formed, and from that came a large cyclone.

River watched in awe. He had been practicing with his Earth powers for years, and he was nowhere near _that_ good. Maris made a rising circular gesture with her hand and the water within the cyclone froze. The immense force of the wind tore horns of ice loose and flung them every which way. The Hylian girl thrust both arms upwards and a wall of water came up to protect all the Zora fighters, River, her brother, and herself.

Shrill, stomach-turning cries of agony filled the cove as the last of the Dread Serpents were destroyed. _"Miss Maris… You and your fellow Chosens did a wonderful job,"_ Lielu congratulated. The addressed opened her eyes cautiously and gasped at the scene. Corpses of deceased sea dragons littered the area. The water was warm and crimson from bloodshed. It looked horrid and dismal, yet Maris knew that this massacre would bring about happier days for Seabound and all within it.

Lielu swam forward slowly as her rider continued to stare in shock. _"You need not worry, young Chosen,"_ the sea guardian assured silently, _"for your actions were made with naught but the good of this fair city in mind. You've most certainly earned the respect and gratitude of Seabound."_

Maris climbed onto land unsteadily and hurried to her brother, who was also gazing at the stinking cove. "Zephyr… W-We did a good thing… right?" she whispered hesitantly. Zephyr looked down at his little sister affectionately. "Of course we did, Sister," he smiled, though his weariness showed clearly in his eyes. "This whole city would have been destroyed if we hadn't helped out. We did a _very_ good thing."

"Let's hear it for Zephyr and Miss Maris!" River shouted from behind the two. All the Zora troops cheered and hollered and whistled as they came to shore. The siblings turned and grinned sheepishly at the crowed. Lielu tossed her head and splashed joyously. Many of the Zoras clapped, while some saluted or raised their weapons to the sky in victory.

"Let's go, you two," River smirked as he placed one hand on Zephyr's shoulder and his other on Maris'. "My mom's gonna want to speak with you."

---

"You have gone up and beyond the call of two foreigners, Chosens or not," Queen Ruto said in her most formal tone. "For this, we of the lush and prosperous city of Seabound are eternally grateful. It pains me to admit that we have mistakenly shunned the rest of the world from our doorstep. We have long been engaged in a war with the Dread Serpents, and a long and terrible war it has been. I realize now that we should have called out neighbors for help long ago, but we were proud. Seabound has stood alone for decades, ever since the page of the Royal Family stopped visiting the kingdom some years before the Changing. I see now that independence will beget naught but strife.

"I feel as though we are so deeply indebted to you that we may never repay you. And considering the task you, as Chosens, are charged with, our debt will only increase by tenfold in the future. I ask of you now that… Oh, I feel so silly. Asking the heroes who just saved my city for a favor… Still, I implore that you allow my son River to accompany you on your quest. As you are already aware of, he is Chosen of Earth and will fight along with you to restore peace to Hyrule.

"Now, don't tell anyone I've told you this but… I'm actually a diehard Tri'dist. I have been since long before the Changing, when I was still but a girl. Keep this particularly quiet, all right? I think that Unra is the evil god from the prophecy. Now, don't ever speak of this ever again. I don't want all of my city to be executed as heretics. Before you go, I have one last tiny little favor to ask of you. If you ever meet a soldier named Link, tell him that his fiancée is still waiting for him and always will be. Now, is there anything you need to ask of me?"

Zephyr cleared his throat, hesitant to speak after being given such a long speech. "Yes, your majesty. There is one thing," he began humbly. "Could we borrow a boat from your Navy with which to travel in?"

Ruto groaned and hid her face behind her hand. "Such a simple request, such a _very_ simple request, yet it is one that I cannot comply with. The Dread Serpents have eliminated the last of our ships; they are all either in disrepair or resting at the bottom of the Great Sea. I am so very sorry, but you will not be able to leave until we can mend at least one suitable craft," she explained morosely.

"What about Lielu?" Maris asked. "I can communicate with her, and she's more than large enough for all three of us to ride. I promise that she won't be hurt."

The queen pressed her lips together and paced back and forth. "I… suppose you've proven yourselves more than capable of looking after her well-being… I don't see what harm it will bring… Very well. I hereby grant the Chosens use of Lielu during their travels."

"If you're through, we'll be on our way," River yawned. "See ya 'round, Mom." The young prince headed for the door without waiting for a reply.

"Wait!" Ruto called. "…Go east. To the Eastern Clan. You know what to do. Tell _him_ that the Chosen of Water is among you."

River nodded over his shoulder. "Will do. Let's go, guys."

---

"Mom said to go _east_," River complained as he trailed his hand in the water. "We heard her, River," Zephyr growled. "But Maris and I need to visit Aine and tell her what we're getting ourselves into, since we sneaked out without her permission."

"What's an 'aine'?" the young prince sighed. "Is it something to eat?"

Maris giggled. "Why would we need permission from a food to leave the village? Of course Aine isn't food, silly! She's our Shiekah caretaker."

_"Is this it?"_ Lielu interrupted. The blonde girl gazed into the distance. They had reached the shore and could go no further into the Northern Reaches. "Yeah, it's just over that snow bank. Thanks, Lielu. We'll be right back," she smiled as she hopped off the young dragon. Zephyr and River eagerly followed, Zephyr more so than his companion.

"Wait, what's that?" the young Chosen of Earth whispered as he pointed at a red glow in the distance. It looked like fire. Zephyr and Maris ran headlong across the snow until they found a large steel ship rammed upon the coast. The light was coming from a billowing smokestack at the boat's height. On the side was a plate of scarlet glass set into a pair of silver wings. "It looks like Mom's crown," River muttered.

"Brother… Isn't that the emblem of the Monastery?" Maris inquired, trying her best to mask the tension from her voice and failing. Zephyr shook his head unbelievingly and took off towards Snowbound. Maris and River raced after his, though his speed was unmatched at the time being.

"No!" came his dismayed cry when he reached the peak of the snow-covered hill. He held himself rigid for a moment, shaking his head, then descended. "Leave her alone!" he demanded as the sound of his rapier being drawn came to his pursuers' ears.

**Ending the chapter in a cliffhanger makes _me_ want to write more, so it's a good thing for me to do. This was one of my longest chapters yet, and I understand that reading them takes little to no time. However, I try to keep them under six pages (I write on 11.5 font, just so ya know. Even though it doesn't really matter…) whereas I used to keep them down to three! It must be bliss for newcomers to "For the Sake of the World" to not have to wait so long for such short updates. Actually, in those days I updated daily… I wonder what happened to that?**

**Contest is still canceled, though it would have been over by now anyway. I sense that I am boring you, so go ahead and review now (hint, hint)!**


	6. Despair

**Another chapter so soon? Yup! I tell ya, cliffhangers do wonders for my inspiration. Still can't manage to pump out the daily updates, though. I blame the United States Educational System. Anyway, I'm sure you're all wondering what's going on in Snowbound. Well, here it is!**

**Chapter 6: Despair**

"Brother!" Maris shouted as she kicked off her cumbersome boots and ran barefoot through the snow with tears in her eyes. The snow and ice were telling her something, though she couldn't quite hear what. However, she could tell that their message was urgent, furious, and melancholy all at once. At one point she could almost swear that she was being told to turn back.

"Miss Maris! Don't run off alone!" River called as her raced to catch up. The girl wasn't listening, though. She couldn't care less about the Zora prince at the moment. Her brother… her aine… They were the only family she had. The closer she came to Snowbound, the more she noticed that it was uncharacteristically warm in the area. Finally Maris reached the peak of the snow bank. Her mouth fell agape at what she saw.

Fire. So much fire, it was unbelievable. How could a place built in so much snow and ice burn so well? The combustibility of the town wasn't a priority at the moment, though. Maris slid down the mound and looked everywhere, calling for her sibling. She could hear River shouting for him as well. There came the unmistakable sound of Zephyr's battle cry, followed almost immediately by a grunt of pain.

Maris quivered with fear as she sprinted past burning residences. She soon stumbled upon a great bonfire. Before the raging flames stood a tall man clothed in elaborate robes. Zephyr crouched off to the side, whimpering with pain and clutching at a terrible wound. The man had a woman caught by the neck and was holding her well above the ground. She was an intimidating young Shiekah woman with hair as white as the snow around them…

"_AINE_!" the blonde girl screamed as tears fell relentlessly from her cerulean eyes. She ran forward, sobbing, and immediately began to whack the man with her staff. He swatted her away with his free hand, knocking the breath out of her and momentarily crippling her.

"Sinners. Heretics. Repent with your lives," the man spat. His eyes were dark and cold with hate. Sisha managed to turn her head just enough to get Zephyr and Maris in her line of vision. "Chil…dren… R-run…" she coughed as she fell limp in the man's grasp. "What have you done? What have you done? What have you done?" Maris cried, forgetting the throbbing pain that enveloped her.

"My name is Saint Karl," the man introduced with a small bow. "You two are not Shiekah from before the Changing. You are both young Hylians, young enough to not have been exposed to the evil that is Tri'dism. Tell me. Do you believe in the holy savior Unra?"

"No!" Maris admitted. "I never have! I never will! Unra is the evil that we Chosens are going to defeat! _And we'll kill you too_!" She immediately resumed her fit of sobbing as Karl approached her. "Chosens?" he repeated contemplatively. "You mean to say that two mere children are the ones who are destined by the prophecy to rid Hyrule of an 'evil god'?"

"M-Maris…" Zephyr stammered. "Shut up… D-Don't tell him these things…" The boy wondered where River had disappeared to at such a time.

"Guards!" Karl snapped. "Bring your ropes and torches! I've found two more of the heretics! Let us burn them slowly over the fires and savor their youthful screams."

"What k-kind of morals are those?" Zephyr said with as much contempt as he could muster. "Some kind of messenger of g-god you are, who wants to h-hear a couple children cry for their l-lives." He doubled over as a new pain enveloped him.

Soon three men in white armor showed up, one with a good length of rope and two with torches. There was another being standing behind them. He had long white hair that ran down his back and had on standard boots and gloves. His eyes were black and serene. His most notable characteristic, though, was that he was nothing more than a giant rock with arms and legs.

"Why don't you let me take these two?" he suggested in a deep, grating voice. Karl whipped around. "And who are you?" he demanded skeptically.

"Name's Doroki. I'm a traveler. A hungry traveler. And these two look mighty appetizing." He chuckled. "Of course… you don't look so bad… yourself!" Doroki then erupted in a fit of maniacal laughter that lasted a good three minutes and left Karl and the three guards very, _very_ disturbed. There was a bit of silence. "I'm only kidding," the rock creature admitted.

"Well… Are you Tri'dist?" Karl asked as he narrowed his eyes. "Oh, yes! All the way! Tri'dism, GO!" Doroki cheered. One of the guards raised his hand slightly as if remembering something important.

"Saint Karl, I think this is that rogue from the Gorons. They say he's stark raving mad. You can't take his word on anything. Watch this, sir. Doroki, are you Unrist?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm Unrist!"

"I thought you were Tri'dist?" Karl reminded.

"Tri'dist, yup! That's me!" the Goron replied cheerfully.

"But you just said you were Unrist."

"Duh! Unrism is the way to go!"

"Well, are you Tri'dist or Unrist?"

Doroki stared blankly. Karl could almost hear the little hamster that powered the fool's brain die. "Unrist," he prompted.

"YEAH!" Doroki responded enthusiastically. "So, can I eat them?"

Karl pulled aside his guards for a quick conference. "Do we let him take the children or not?" he asked. One of the guards chuckled. "He's so insane, he's probably telling the truth. I say we let him take the little brats," he suggested. The other two guards agreed. Anything to get Doroki out of their hair was good with them. They had heard rumors about the Goron that came from a strict family of protectors. Sources said that the rules of the family were so stern and harsh that Doroki lost it and became the black sheep of his bloodline. Renounced by his ashamed relatives, he became a wanderer. However, it was well-known that Doroki was extremely powerful. And everyone understood that power plus insanity equaled bad, bad things.

"Very well. Do with them as you please," Karl assented as he motioned for his guards to return to the ship. A while later, the boat's horn resonated over the glacier. It soon became obvious that they weren't coming back.

"You can come out now," Doroki said to a nearby pile of snow. River emerged from behind it looking mortified. He ran to Maris' side and fell to his knees in the snow. He took a small bottle out of his travel bag and poured a drop of icy liquid into her mouth. The girl shook her head and opened her eyes. "What just happened?" she questioned weakly. River smiled in relief and gently laid her down upon the snow, then proceeded to Zephyr.

"How are you feeling?" the Goron inquired. Maris looked around worriedly. "Aine!" she shouted as she sprang to her feet and ran to Sisha. The woman was long dead. "Feeling all right, you say?" Doroki continued, despite the fact that the one he was speaking with had left. "That's good, that's good. You took a nasty blow. Oh, and your Shiekah caretaker… You should go see her."

"Sisha…?" Zephyr was also well now. River silently walked over and stood beside the large Goron. "So… is your name really Doroki?" he asked hesitantly. The rock being nodded once.

"And are you really going to… eat us?"

He nodded again. River gasped, evoking yet another nod from Doroki. "…Sir?" he inquired. Doroki nodded once more. The young prince sighed in frustration and crouched beside Maris, who was kneeling in the snow before Sisha's corpse. "Are you okay?" he asked gently. His response was the soft sound of the girl's weeping. He bit his lip and looked at Zephyr. The boy's head was bowed, his eyes veiled by shadows. Tears stained his shirt and marked the snow at his feet.

The young prince turned to look at Doroki to find him… still nodding. _The guy must be nuts_, he determined. "Sir! Why don't you say something?" he prompted. The man snapped to attention. "What did I miss?" he inquired as he searched the landscape for Goddesses-know-what. "Sisha is dead, sir," River reminded.

"And it's all my fault," Zephyr interrupted as he turned his face towards the sky, his eyes closed as a meager defense against his tears. "I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't fight him… I… I failed…" His voice cracked and he turned away to clear his eyes of tears. Maris stood and hid her face in her hands, shaking her head as if trying to convince herself that she was dreaming. "Brother…" She lowered her hands. Her dark sapphire eyes glimmered with tears.

"Excuse me," Doroki said, "but can I assume that you are Zephyr, Maris, and River?"

The named nodded in turn.

"And I see by your eyes that you are all Chosens," he observed as he met the pale blue gaze of the Chosen of the Wind, the darker cerulean of the Chosen of Water, and the shining emerald of the Chosen of Earth.

"We are," Zephyr replied simply. Doroki bowed. "My name is… Well, you know my name. I am from a family of Gorons. This is why I am a Goron. My mother and father were Gorons as well. And all my siblings, cousins, and other relatives. Somewhere alone the line there might have been a… No, no. We're all Gorons. I'm one hundred percent Goron. The most Goron-y Goron in-"

"We get the point!" Zephyr snapped, still upset about his aine. Doroki cleared his throat. "My apologies. I often get that way," he admitted. "Anyway, my bloodline is charged with the task of protecting the Chosens whenever they may appear. Think of me as your new non-Shiekah aine. Goron aine. Like a… gaine. Considering the spelling, it's sort of like 'rain'. Or 'grain'. Wood has grain, you know. Wood is a great natural resource. Rocks are a great resource too. Mm, rocks…"

The three Chosens looked at one another, each with their own look of disbelief. This… this _fool_ was their protector? He couldn't hold his attention to one thing for more than five seconds, and they dreaded what antics he would pursue should he become engaged in battle.

"As you know," Doroki continued, paying no heed to his audience's strange expressions, "the Monastery is out to destroy every last trace of Tri'dism. Do you know why this is?"

"Is it because the three golden Goddesses have no power if everyone's prayers are directed to Unra?" River guessed.

"Hm. That's better than what _I_ was going to say," Doroki nodded as he pulled a notepad out of his boot and jotted down the prince's suggestion. "Either way, Unrism is _really_ the bad religion. At least this is what I was told. One way or another, you Chosens need to unite with the Chosen of Fire if you are to fulfill your destinies."

"And where _is_ the Chosen of Fire?" Zephyr inquired impatiently. Doroki applauded for some infinitely strange reason… "I don't know!" he laughed. Maris covered her face with her hand and turned around. Sisha was still there. No doubt every Shiekah in Snowbound lay slaughtered in their homes.

"Before we do anything else… we need to bury these people and give them all a respectful funeral," she murmured. Zephyr released a shuddering sigh. "Aine… Thank you so much. We'll never forget you," he whispered.

---

Between Zephyr's, Maris', and River's Elemental powers, creating graves for the scores of corpses was a simple task. Maris and Zephyr cleared away the initial layer of snow while River handled the brown earth. Doroki, with his impressive strength, had no trouble at all hauling bodies to and fro. Surprisingly, the thought of holding a bloody carcass in his arms wasn't disturbing in the least. When the pits were covered again, River brought gorgeous blue roses into bloom from beneath the ice. They grew on trees, bushes, vines, and individual flowers. The next time a fresh snow fell, it would a breath-taking sight.

"These people were our family, whether or not we spoke on a regular basis. Their lives were unjustly taken in the name of this 'god' that the Monastery promotes. Din, Farore, Nayru… please guard their souls in an eternal peace. I hereby vow to avenge the death of everyone here. This will not go unnoticed…"

By the time Zephyr finished, there were tears in his eyes. Maris and River stood aside, watching with heavy hearts. When her brother stepped down, the younger sibling knelt before Sisha's grave and pulled water out of the snow, then froze it into a sculpture of herself, Zephyr, and their aine. "We'll always remember you, Aine," Maris promised before she fell back into rank with her fellow Chosens.

"I have a boat on the other shore," Doroki announced. "Do you have a destination?"

"The sea to the east," River stated simply. Doroki gave his assent and started off towards his ship. "Um, Mr. Doroki," Maris said. When he turned around, she went on, "My brother and I can ride on Lielu, the guardian of Seabound. Is that all right?"

Once again the Goron acceded the proposal. River decided to ride along with Doroki, since Lielu was only really big enough for two people to sit on comfortably. In no time at all, they were headed east across the oceans.

**Maris did eventually get her shoes back… just so ya know. Oh, and now I have high speed and I can load things like WHOOSH! It's so much fun! Although now AOL (which still runs on dial-up, somehow or another) locks up all the time, so I have to use AIM to talk to my friends and Internet Explorer to browse and such. But, man oh man, the loading time. You know how it is if you functioned on dial-up forever and then got high speed. Great, huh? High speed means I'll be able to load new pictures to my website _much_ more quickly than before. So expect new illustrations soon.**

**Sad to say, all the inspiration from _The Chronicles of Narnia_ movie was used up chapter before last. Well… Now I gotta find that map I drew of New Hyrule. Can't remember what I called the sea to the east. Anyway, got no new contests in the works. Don't think I ever will. If you want, you should come read through my forum every now and then. It's role-playing and it gets really awesome, even if it's just practice (we don't even have a villain yet…). We've got the most posts out of all the Zelda forums. Blondie91 says I should feel 'popular'. Screw you, Blondie.**

**I still answer reviews via blog, which you can get to from the link in my profile. I don't have much else to say, so… Please review! It's only those reviews that makes me update! So the more I get and the longer they are, the faster I'll write! And that's the truth! I go a lot more quickly when I know there are a lot of people eagerly waiting. I digress. So… yeah. Have a nice life.**


	7. Crest of Water

**WHOO! Long wait, huh? And it's been gosh knows how long since "Legend of Advertisement!" and "WTF!" have gotten any love. Then there's that one about Homecoming that I don't even remember the title of, and the recent one: "Dog Days". But at least the story with a clear-cut plot has been updated, right?**

**Excuse? Uhh… I got a Gamecube, and you wouldn't believe how enthralling Tales of Symphonia is! Well, now that this update is done, I think I'm gonna put a cap on "Legend of Advertisement!" and write another shorty for "WTF!", then invest some work into polishing off the Homecoming one. Somewhere along the line I'll get around to writing about Link's adventure with Murphy too.**

**For now, here's the only update yer getting out of me. Hope ya like it!**

**Chapter 7: Crest of Water**

"Lielu says that we're probably heading towards the Eastern Zora civilization," Maris sighed, her hand trailing in the water. Zephyr placed a hand on her sister's shoulder to console her. They were both still upset, at least to some degree. "You know, I wonder where River's father is," he pondered aloud. Maris gazed ahead at the small craft with the curved bow from which dangled a lantern. They had been following that gentle glow for what seemed like hours.

"River's father… Wouldn't he be the king of Seabound?" the girl suggested. Zephyr shook his head in contemplation. "Queen Ruto said that she was the fiancée of a man named Link. River's father would only be king if he had married Ruto, but apparently he couldn't since the queen was already engaged."

"You think a lot more than me," Maris pouted, evoking a chuckle from her brother.

"Look! Look!"

River's excited voice caught the siblings' attention and they turned their gaze past the little flame that guided them. They had noticed the climate growing warmer, though the night had kept things rather chilly. The island before them, however, looked almost tropical. Colorful flowers bloomed on the shore and grass actually sprouted where the beach receded. Zephyr eagerly leapt off of Lielu's back and onto the sunbathed sands. He was already in the process of shedding his cloak and boots, since the weather hardly called for such wear.

Maris followed her brother's example, then hurried across the beach to keep up with them. The only thing the children had ever seen was ice and ocean. This tropical coast was a whole new world for them. River, however, seemed unimpressed. "Guys, stop acting like such children!" the prince called after his excited companions. Doroki lumbered along behind him absent-mindedly.

Zephyr took his sister's hand and they waited for the prince to catch up. "This is Zora Village, home to a small tribe of Zora, among them being my… father," River explained. Zephyr noted the way his companion averted his gaze when he uttered the word. _I wonder what kind of relationship he has with his dad_, he mused. He always thought it would be fortunate to have a mother and father to rely on when things got tough, or to console him when he was hurt or sad. Apparently that wasn't always the case.

"The great Chief Lurias of the Eastern Clan," Doroki thought aloud. _Wow… Mr. Doroki has thoughts_, Maris contemplated in surprise. River nodded once. "Yeah, Lurias. My father. He couldn't marry Mom because she was already engaged to some warrior guy named Link, so he went to the other side of the world and became a fierce fighter in an attempt to impress Mom. She still said that she couldn't marry him because all Zora engagements are absolute. Time and time again she said that she wished she could marry him, but she just… couldn't."

"I didn't know the Zora were so strict about their customs," Doroki commented. River nodded. "Mom always told me that she loved my father, but… well, you get it by now. Dad wasn't happy about it. He always said that if he ever saw this Link dude, he'd kill him to get Mom out of her engagement. As it stands, there's nothing that can be done."

"I'm sorry, River," Maris said. The prince raised an eyebrow. "Why? Did _you_ set up Link with my mother?" he chuckled. The girl shook her head. "No… but still. I just… I'm sorry. That's all…"

The Zora smiled. "Yeah… I know what you mean. …Thanks, Maris."

"Look!" Zephyr interrupted as he pointed across the landscape. There was a fleet of Zora approaching. The one at the lead was built well and carried himself regally. He held a long spear in one hand. "Thank would be Chief Lurias," Doroki noted as he stuffed a fistful of sand into his mouth. "Eww… This isn't rocks!" he complained.

River pressed his lips together and stalked forward with the demeanor one would expect a prince to maintain. He met the fleet and bowed. "Greetings from the Western Capital," he said as he gazed solemnly ahead. Lurias nodded. "Greetings from the Eastern Clan, my son," he replied, returning the bow. River gestured towards his companions. "Mother sent us here, presumably for the Crest," he explained.

Lurias turned around and dismissed his fleet. When the last soldier had departed, still he did not turn to face his son. "The Crest of Water can only be given to its complimentary Chosen," he reminded in a grave voice. "Among you are naught but children and a Goron warrior. The Goron is out right away, for his kind is intolerant of the Element. The other two are far too young to receive the trials the Crest will offer."

Zephyr nudged his sister forward. "Um… My name is Maris. I hail from Snowbound, and I am the Chosen of Water," she introduced in a bold voice.

Lurias spared her a glance, but still did not turn to face her. "You can have no more than ten years to your name, young one. There is no way I will permit one so inexperienced to face the trials of the Crest."

"Wait a minute; I'm lost," Zephyr interrupted. "What 'Crest'? And what trials?"

Lurias glared at his son from over his shoulder. "It appears the young prince has neglected to present you with the information you require," he said aloofly. "There are four imperial cities throughout Hyrule: Seabound, Sunbound, Earthbound, and the fabled lost empire of Skybound. These cities are the keepers of the four Crests, a different Crest for each Chosen."

"What of Snowbound?" Maris inquired. Lurias cleared his throat. "I am far from through," he said coldly. Maris bit her lip and withdrew to her brother's side to allow River's stern father to continue.

"The Crest of Water should reside within the walls of Seabound, but since Queen Ruto has claimed to raise our son herself, I took the Crest with me when I returned to Zora Village. Everyone in Hyrule still thinks that the Crest of Water is safe within the armored walls of the western oceanic capital."

_And that's why the Dread Serpents attacked there_, Zephyr concluded. "Is the Monastery aware of the Crests? And, just what are the Crests for?" he asked. Lurias sighed in frustration.

"Let us exchange remarks no more upon these sands. Come. We will continue this discussion within my own abode," he suggested as he started off across the island. River beckoned that the others follow. Doroki seemed to have his 'mind' on other matters and didn't come along. It looked as though he was searching for rocks to devour.

Young Zora girls danced about with wreaths of pink and blue flowers around their heads and necks. The boys sparred with fallen branches from the palm trees. Women conversed as they carried out their chores, and men marched about as if training for battle. They all turned their heads and spoke in hushed tones as Lurias and his companions passed. Before long, the entourage had arrived at a grand house situated in the center of the humble village. They entered, and the chief gestured that they have a seat at the table in the center of the room.

"This girl is the Chosen of Water, yes?" Lurias reassessed. Zephyr nodded and nudged his sister. The girl grumbled in an "I know" sort of way and faced the Zora warrior with her full attention.

"Unacceptable," the man dismissed, waving his hand. "Not only is she but a tadpole, but she's also a girl. I will not allow her to receive the trials of the Crest."

"You've yet to tell them what the trials _are_, father dear," River grumbled sarcastically, earning himself a sharp glare from his father.

"When you first come into contact with the Crest, it will bestow upon you three trials to identify you as a worthy Chosen. These trials will test your mind, body, and spirit. If you cannot overcome them all successfully, you will die. Many of my own village have been convinced that they were the Chosen of Water and died a most gruesome death at the hands of the Crest. Do you not see why I cannot grant you such a dangerous item?"

"Maris is different, Lurias," River announced. "She's strong. Even though she's never been exposed to the true nature of the Element before, she can control water very well. She can even heal!"

"Do not become so foolishly excited, my son," the man advised, closing his eyes in grievance for the lost souls who faced the trials and failed. Maris bit her lip and stood from her seat.

"Chief Lurias of the Eastern Clan," she began in a demanding voice, "my brother and I refuse to leave until I have undergone the trial—and succeeded. Trust me, you cannot deter me by any means! If the Crest shall have my life, so be it. I will accept my fate."

Lurias sighed in frustration. "Fine, you impudent child. Your shortsightedness will be the death of you," he finally agreed, standing and moving towards a door decorated with shells and wreaths of kelp and sea flowers. There was a large room through the passage, and in the middle was a pedestal. Upon the pedestal sat a small cerulean orb. Within it was a darker blue swirling shape that resembled crashing waves.

"There is the Crest of Water, young Chosen. It is not yet too late. You can still leave and ensure your life. Perhaps you could come back much later when you are more able to withstand the conditions you will be forced to meet," Lurias suggested in a last-ditch effort to keep Maris away from the Crest.

"I said I'm doing it, so I'm doing it. Besides, it's not like there's any other way," the Hylian girl said with determination as she reached forward and touched the Crest. A blinding light tinted with a pale blue hue filled the chamber, enveloping Zephyr, River, and Lurias.

**I came up with a better excuse! I've spent all my spare time tending my forum, which needs lots of love to blossom into the gorgeous flower I know it can be! Well, I think it's gotten plenty of love, but still. I'm a part of it, as well as the moderator, and I need to be there!**

**Expect a Tales of Symphonia fanfic outta me some time soon. You can probably read it and understand what's going on completely without ever having played the game. I'm writing it that way, so… yeah.**

**Reviews make for faster updates! Notice how just one week after Nee-san's review rampage, I updated! Come on, you know you wanna read more! It's a total cliffhanger!**


	8. Trials

**OH MY FREAKING COW! It's an actual _update_! Can you believe it?**

**Sorry for the, err… 'delay'. See, I got this account at deviantArt, and it's just been demanding ALL my attention. There's a link in my profile. I'm getting better with drawing… sort of. Granted, it's much better than what was on my old art website. Before the dA obsession came into full swing, I had a forum to tend to. Now I've got moderators for that. Well, staff. I've appropriately staffed the forum, yup.**

**I bet you're not interested in the least about what I'm saying right now. I bet about half of you skip this whole note. Well, shame on you. Don't _my_ feelings count at all? …Maybe not. Aw well. Go read the chapter.**

**Chapter 8: Trials**

The sound of glass shattering came next as the Crest of Water broke free of the blue orb that encased it. Maris stood at the center of the light, palms up from where she had been holding the sphere. The wave shape that was inside glowed brightly about her hands, radiating light, and attached to the girl's chest like a tattoo. The pigment dissolved, leaving no trace of its presence besides memories. The unbearable brightness faded with it.

"Is that it?" Maris inquired skeptically. Lurias scoffed. "Hardly. If you believe that light was the extent of the trials, you are quite sadly mistaken," he informed aloofly. He then turned and departed, leaving his son without a word.

"That was some language you used on Dad!" River chuckled. Maris smiled, receiving a raised eyebrow from her brother.

"Just where _did_ you learn to talk like that?" he inquired curiously. His younger sibling giggled and started towards the door. "I just listened to Aine," she replied, masking the despair from her voice at the mention of her deceased guardian.

River gasped and followed after the Hylian child. "Maris, wait! The trials! Don't you remember?" he called, beckoning for her to return. The girl turned on her heel and smiled. "Personally, I think your father just made up the trials to try to scare me away. I'll be fine," she explained. Zephyr groaned at his younger sibling's ignorance. On their way to Lurais' home, they had passed an extensive graveyard. Lurais himself said that many had lost their lives to the trials, yet still Maris remained unfazed.

"My foolish sister… What are you getting yourself into now?" he said under his breath, following River to the exit.

The three gathered outside the chief's house to discuss their next course of action. Zephyr was convinced that they should stay at least for the night for when the Crest finally presented its trials to Maris. The Chosen in question merely rolled her eyes and proclaimed adamantly that there were no trials to be presented. River stood to the side quietly, despite his normally boisterous nature. A grim expression was painted onto his face.

"River…? Something wrong?" Zephyr inquired upon noticing his companion's unusual demeanor. The young prince smiled brightly. "Nah, nah, it's all good," he assured as he continued after Maris. Zephyr, unsure of the Zora's behavior, followed closely.

The trio soon ran into Doroki, who was seated upon the beach with his face buried in the sand. Lielu stared at him with a look of befuddlement in her eyes. Maris poked the rocky skin curiously and Doroki snapped backwards. He immediately locked gazes with the girl.

After a period of silence, the Goron proclaimed, "My lady Maris, your eyes shine with a new power. Now excuse me while I eat the ground." With that, Doroki returned to his former position. Maris raised an eyebrow.

"Doroki, do you know anything about the trials?" Zephyr asked. Doroki's head moved slightly, causing the sand to undulate. His response was muffled.

"We can't hear you, Doroki," the Hylian boy said with a sigh. The addressed pulled his head from its sandy encasement. "My apologies, my lord Zephyr," he grinned. Sand escaped the corners of his mouth.

"I said that the trials are a series of tests. The name of each most likely begins with 'the Trial of' and then states the nature of the trial. I also conclude that these trials are very hard to pass, but if you can do so, something good will happen."

"In other words, you don't anything about it," Zephyr groaned. Maris scoffed. "He doesn't know anything about it because they don't _exist_," she persisted. Her brother growled obstinately. "He doesn't know anything about it because he's an _idiot_!" he corrected, gesturing to Doroki as the Goron slammed his head into the sand repeatedly.

River turned his gaze upon the sky, lost within the workings of his mind. The sun was high, but it was beginning its descent from the heavens. "We still have a few hours before the sun even starts setting," he mumbled to himself. Zephyr perked his ears and faced the prince. "Yeah, we do. Whaddya wanna do for all that time?" he questioned in a friendly tone. River replied with a despondent smirk, which received a puzzled expression from his fellow Chosen.

"We should hang out at my dad's place," he suggested cheerfully. "We can crash there, and he's got a hot spring in the back."

Maris turned her head at this comment. "I've always wanted to try a hot spring!" she exclaimed, grabbing Doroki's hand and attempting to drag him along. The task proved more difficult than it seemed at face value. They eventually convinced Doroki to follow with promises of real rocks as opposed to the sandy substitute. Before long they were back at the Zora chief's home. River guided them through the many chambers until they emerged into a large yard with many bright, fragrant flowers. In the middle of the area was a round pool, steaming with natural heat and encircled with a decorative barrier of smooth stones. Doroki immediately sat down beside those stones and shoved one into his mouth, crunching it happily.

"The water's hot!" Zephyr observed, mystified. River laughed as he submersed himself in the bubbling pool. "Well, duh, genius! That's why it's called a _hot_ spring!" he smirked. Maris gazed wistfully at the heated lake, then stared at her clothes. "Do you have something I can change into?" she inquired with a smile.

River jumped up. "Oh! Yeah! My deepest apologies, Lady Maris! I'll get you guys some towels! I hope that'll do," he said as he started off into the house, returning moments later with a pair of pale blue towels. He tossed one to Zephyr and placed the other in Maris' waiting hands. "I guess I'll… yeah," he chuckled as he turned around. Zephyr and Maris wrapped the plush towels around their childlike frames and immersed themselves, River joining them shortly after.

The air was soon filled with laughter as the children played, their games enduring through the evening twilight. When the night grew old and stars speckled the infinite darkness, they hauled themselves from the waters and garbed themselves in light sleeping clothes. Before heading inside for rest, they ventured to the highest point on the island and perched themselves there to observe the heavens.

"Sister, don't the stars seem kinda… special?" Zephyr whispered sleepily. Maris nodded her assent. "They always have, though I can't place why," she replied.

"You know, this was a long, long, long, long time ago, but there was once this lady who was said to have received the blessing of the heavens," River said with a tone of reverence. "In fact, some people say she's still alive today. Others say she was killed in the Changing. No one knows for sure what ever happened to her."

"Oh, I've heard that legend," Maris commented. "Wasn't she one of the Gerudo?"

"I thought the Gerudo were all killed in the Changing," Zephyr interrupted. The prince nodded. "They were. This happened a long time before then. I think the legend says she was raised among the Gerudo, but she was really one of seven Guardian Spirits that watch over Hyrule," he explained.

Maris stood and headed for the house. "We should get some sleep, shouldn't we?" she suggested. River gave his assent and led his companion into the chief's home, beckoning for Zephyr to follow. The boy rose and glanced at the stars again before proceeding inside.

"Guardian Spirits… If they're really watching over Hyrule, then why is all this stuff with the Monastery happening? And why does no one know about the woman from the legend if she really existed?" He shook the thoughts from his head and went inside.

Maris was roused from her slumber from a bright light. She opened her eyes and found herself drifting amongst an infinite nothing. The source of the light was a small girl with pale blue skin, short azure hair, and a simple blue dress. Her cerulean eyes were teeming with what looked like crashing waves, and fins like a Zora's flowed from her arms.

"Maris, Chosen of Water, you have accepted my trial, the trial of Acarsis, one of the remaining Guardian Spirits," the girl explained in an ethereal voice. Maris gasped.

"So the Guardian Spirits really are real?" she asked eagerly. Acarsis closed her eyes in contemplation. "_Were_ real," she corrected. "The Monastery has successfully destroyed many of my fellow Spirits. Only one other remains apart from myself. I eluded them merely by blending into the sea that encased the land. However, the Monastery failed to take into account the fact that the Spirits cannot die. They have already been reincarnated."

"And that's why the haven't been able to do anything about the Monastery," Maris murmured.

Acarsis cleared her throat. "If I may continue," she said. Maris waited in reverent silence. "Thank you," the Spirit smiled. "My trial is of three parts, one to test your courage, one to test your power, and, my personal favorite, one to test your wisdom. If you've no further queries, the first trial will now commence."

Before Maris could utter a word, the inky darkness swirled around her and became a dazzling array of colors. The brightness faded until what remained was a drab cave. In the center was a large pit, and over the pit dangled Maris' brother. Sleek, black serpents coiled up from the depths of the hole and poised themselves around Zephyr.

Not only was Maris afraid of heights, but she also feared snakes, particularly those of the massive, shadowy, and overall evil sort. One of the snakes lunged and clamped its jaws around Zephyr's leg. The boy cried out in agony.

"Brother!" Maris called. She raised her arms, stretching her hands towards her sibling. She closed her eyes and concentrated all the power she could muster into her fingers. Soon she managed to extract moisture from the air. She froze the droplets into little ice needles and hurled them at the snake that still had its fangs lodged in her brother's flesh. Many of the serpents coiled down into the abyss, writhing in pain. Two remained, and they locked their crimson eyes upon Maris fiendishly. Hissing furiously, they turned their attention away from the limp form of their former prey and focused on their assailant.

Maris yelped in shock and fear and took a few steps backwards. The snakes seemed to grow larger in response to this action. The girl shook her mind free of self-doubt and planted her feet firmly upon the ground with a look of pure determination upon her face. She held her hand palm out towards her foes, preparing herself to blast them with everything she had.

Suddenly the serpents shrank until they were the size of slugs. Maris flinched in surprise. She leaned over the creatures and poked one. They wiggled away fearfully, and Maris' attention was called away from the fleeing beings by the soft groaning of her brother.

"Don't worry, Brother! I'm going to come and get you!" the girl shouted. She walked backwards until her back was against the wall, then she ran forward as quickly as she was able and leapt from the ledge. She caught the rope from which her brother dangled and cut it. They were soon falling into the darkness. Zephyr's form disintegrated from Maris' arms as they descended. Her plummet slowed until she floated in the black mist. Acarsis appeared before her, wearing a pleased smile upon her lips.

"Very good, Chosen of Water," she congratulated. "I'd expect no less from their daughter."

"Wait, whose daughter?" Maris interrupted curiously. "Do you know my parents?"

Acarsis sighed in exasperation. "How many times must I ask you not to interrupt me?" she lectured. Maris lowered her head shamefully. "You have completed the Trial of Courage. If you found it too easy, then fear not. We're only getting started."

Acarsis grinned devilishly, and Maris' eyes widened in alarm.

**Ah, Acarsis. I bet you thought you'd never see her again. Props to whomever can guess who the other spirit is that eluded the Monastery. It's really simple if you think about where all the spirits lived. If you never read the Tomes of Hyrule trilogy, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Or maybe you're just that smart and can figure it all out with nothing but this chapter to go on. Doubtedly.**

**As I was saying before… UPDATE! Whoooo! Yeah, I actually do believe in updating. But, uh… Don't expect another any time in the immediate future. Mr. Brown (creative writing teacher) has promised us a very busy week ahead. Tonight I have to type an extra credit essay for history. Luckily, spring break is in two weeks and I'm going to be LOVING it. I can't wait until it's summer again… Then it'll be my one year anniversary on FFnet. And I'll be able to write all I want. Hmm… I wonder if I should take Spanish III in summer… That would be so awesome. I love Spanish.**

**Story… right… The reason I can't write a lot now is because I'm not in a place I enjoy writing… I want them to get to a certain place, but I have this whole list of places they'll have to go first. And I don't like it one bit. In order to make it more interesting for myself, I'm liable to end chapter after chapter in cliffhangers. This is because I, even as the author, want to see what happens next when it ends in a cliffhanger.**

**However, since I already know what's going to happen next, this is basically null… But it's kind of become habit to end with cliffhangers. Ah well.**

**It's a proven fact that getting lengthy (and good!) reviews will motivate me to write more faster. I kid you not. So, to get my lazy butt in gear, please please please PLEASE review! Oh, and those of you who don't review (even though I have anonymous reviews ON), thank you kindly for taking the time to read this story. Shame shame for not reviewing, though. Nah, I'm kidding.**


	9. Obtaining Power

**Hehe.**

**Long time no update.**

**No. For seriously.**

**This chapter's a little shorter than the last one (by about five hundred words), but at least it's something. You might want to give previous chapters a quick once-over, just to make sure you're up to date. I know I did.**

**Chapter 9: Obtaining Power**

"Should you successfully complete this next trial, you will move on to the third and final one," Acarsis continued. "Now, prepare yourself."

Maris drew a deep breath and poised herself determinedly. The blue-haired girl closed her eyes. "Chosen," she began, "tell me… What is broken the moment you name it?"

The young Chosen tilted her head. "I… don't think I understand the question," she stated hesitantly. Acarsis' eyes flashed open almost angrily.

"You must answer. Face the trial boldly. Your wits must be sharp, and you must be confident. Now, what is broken when you name it?" she repeated. Maris sighed and turned her face upwards in silent contemplation. The quietness was somewhat eerie. "Silence," Maris muttered observantly.

"Correct."

Maris gasped. "Th-that was the answer?" she inquired in awe. Acarsis nodded once. The girl laughed at her fortune. She'd merely been stating the obvious; she probably wouldn't be as lucky next time.

"What does everyone have that he can always count on?" Acarsis questioned. Maris bit her lip and focused all her thoughts on the Spirit's words. Something everyone has… that he can always, _always_ count on. The question completely stumped Maris. She clenched her hand into a fist and gazed at it intently, perhaps hoping to procure the answer from her very fingers. A sudden idea donned on the girl.

"Is it… fingers?" she guessed. Acarsis narrowed her eyes.

"You don't sound as confident as the Chosen of Water should. What happened to that stoic determination you had when you spoke to Lurias? Nonetheless, your answer is correct."

"Wait a minute, how do _you_ know what I said to the Zora chief?" Maris asked suspiciously.

"Child, do you understand nothing?" Acarsis said cynically. "I am a Guardian Spirit. I am only a step away from the Goddesses themselves. I can see anything I wish to see. I can know anything I wish to know. Have you not yet come to comprehend that?" Maris hung her head shamefully.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "but like you said, you're only a step away from the Goddesses. It's a little intimidating."

Acarsis nodded in understanding. "Perhaps so, but should the Chosen of Water, a being charged with the task of the world's salvation, have such fluctuating conviction?" she reasoned. "Your next question is your last. Ready yourself."

Maris straightened her posture and took a deep breath. "I am ready, Acarsis," she announced. The Spirit closed her eyes as if in contemplation.

"Listen carefully. I will only speak this riddle once. Miss Anju of Kakariko is feeding her cuccos. There are seven cuccos in the pen. Every cucco gets two slices of bread. For every slice of bread, three mice gather to eat what has been left behind when the cuccos are finished, and four every mouse, five insects wait to partake of what remains. How many beings are in Miss Anju's pen?"

Maris sighed, grateful that she had been able to memorize each of the quantities and even more grateful that the final question of the trial was a simple math problem. Her aine had made her and Zephyr practice their sums and multiplication tables daily for two hours. Realizing that she was distracting herself, Maris set to work. Her answer was two hundred and fifty-nine.

"Um… I think it's… I mean, my solution is two hundred fifty-nine," she proclaimed, remembering halfway through her statement that she had been told to have more confidence.

Acarsis' eyes were closed, leaving Maris in great suspense as to whether she'd passed or failed.

"Your answer is… incorrect," the Spirit reported regretfully.

"What?!" Maris blurted. "No way! There are seven cuccos, right? Each cucco gets two slices of bread; that's fourteen pieces of bread. Three mice for every piece, which is—"

"Please, child. I understand the nature of my own riddle," Acarsis said, holding up her small hand to silence the Chosen. "Your error was in forgetting to count Miss Anju herself." Maris turned her gaze to the ground, her eyes clouding with tears. Had she already failed Hyrule, before her journey even truly began? And if what Lurias had told her was true, she would have no second chances.

"Please," she began, her voice faltering. She whipped her head up and swallowed her sorrow, replacing it with the confidence she knew Acarsis expected of her. "Let me try again! I'll do anything. If the fate of the world rests with me, I refuse to accept this! There has to be another way!"

Acarsis grinned approvingly. "I anticipated such a response from the Chosen of Water. In all honesty, I have no desire to watch my country fade into nothingness, so I will allow you one opportunity to redeem yourself. For the Trial of Power, I had intended for you to demonstrate your skills in combat against a fearsome creature called a Moblin. However, in order for you to prove yourself worthy of the Crest, you are to face me directly."

Maris uttered a murmur of shock. The frail little Water Spirit didn't appear to be much of an opponent, but the Chosen knew that for her to be stronger than the aforementioned "fearsome Moblin", she would probably have more than enough of a challenge on her hands.

A large blue room faded into existence. It had no doors or windows and offered no decoration. "Prepare yourself," the Spirit warned, offering little other indication that she was going to attack. Maris barely found time to dodge as the small being lunged at her wielding a strange weapon she had summoned at a moment's notice. At face value it appeared to be no more than a sword, but the blade seemed to be made of glass and contained water. The young Hylian wondered if maybe she couldn't manage to break it to gain an advantage over her foe. If she could manage that, she would also have water to manipulate.

Maris' plans, however, didn't appear to fit into Acarsis' prediction of the course of the battle. She turned on her heel when her initial attack failed and made a quick flourish with her hand. A few inches of water manifested on the floor and froze into ice. Maris was spared no chance to establish her footing on the ice and slipped to the ground. Within moments Acarsis was upon her with her sword poised for the finishing blow.

The Chosen of Water quickly raised the ice coating the floor to create a shield for herself. Her defense shattered under the force of the attack, and she quickly directed the dozens of shards at her opponent. Acarsis halted them all, and Maris took this time to heave a large slab of upturned ice at the Spirit's sword. As she had hoped it would, the blade cracked and split. Immediately she used the water in a whip-like fashion to deliver a blow of her own, but as her makeshift weapon prepared to hit its mark, the black nothing reclaimed their battleground.

"You performed admirably," Acarsis complimented. "Of course, had I been inclined to use all of my power, you'd have stood nary a chance."

Maris giggled. "Of course," she replied. A silvery blue light glowed intensely upon the girl's chest, and when it faded, a flat plate of silver that bore the emblem representing the Crest of Water was left in its place.

"With the insignia you now bear upon your person," Acarsis began formally, "you have been granted the full power of the Chosen of Water. Learning to manage this power will be another task entirely, but I am confident in your abilities. May your fellow Chosen fare equally as well." As the Spirit began to fade, Maris called for her to wait.

"You mentioned my parents earlier!" she reminded. "Please! Did you know them? Do you know where they are now? Please tell me!"

Acarsis' eyes dimmed remorsefully, filling Maris with dread. "It's not my place to say," she apologized. "Seek the Spirit of the Celestials. While it will prove difficult to locate, it will offer you far more information regarding your parents than I could hope to, even in all my vast wells of knowledge."

The girl pressed her lips together and nodded, bidding her friend farewell. Before she knew exactly what happened, she found herself lying in the bed in which she fell asleep, gazing up at the white domed ceiling. A soft light broke through the round window across from her, filtering through the light green curtains to bask the room in soft turquoise light. The sleeping figures of Zephyr and River were illuminated, and Maris smiled to herself. She sat up and shifted her weight to her hands, but felt something cold beneath her palm. She picked up the object to inspect it and saw that it was the very emblem Acarsis had granted her at the end of the Trials.

The Hylian child was suddenly overcome by exhaustion as though she had not been asleep at all that night. It donned on her that was a distinct possibility, and she lay down again. Before long she was fast asleep, and unfortunately, not long after that she was being roused by her brother.

"Maris, wake up," he commanded quietly. "The Trials, right? They'll probably be today. I know you don't believe in them, but will you just trust me for once?"

"Go away, Brother," the younger sibling mumbled. "I've already taken care of the Trials. Just let me sleep for a while longer."

**Why couldn't I manage to finish that danged chapter? D:**

**Don't expect another one any time soon. You've already had a taste of my ineptitude with updating. With any luck, I'll finish the next chapter before Halloween next year.**

**Happy Halloween, by the way. :D**


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